Teen Dad Series

The First Year (Luke & Ruby)

The first year after Ruby was born was the hardest. He had to deal with not only raising Ruby, but grieving over the death of her mother. It challenged him in ways he never thought it would, but somehow they were still sane a year later. 

One whole year had passed before his eyes. Ruby was sitting up on her own, crawling whenever she got the chance. She'd started to say a few words on her own too. Soon potty training would have to start, so would walking and reading and going to school. She'd be off to college, meeting her husband, having kids of her own in not time. 

The thought of it made Luke want to hug her and never let her go. 

Then thoughts of Zoey would come to mind and he suddenly felt more distant than ever. 

It was the kind of emotional roller-coaster that brought Ashton over during the afternoon. 

"Hi, Ruby Bug." He scooped her up, showering her with affection and making her gigle. She'd been in the kitchen watching Luke's mom make her birthday cake. Ashton carried her into the living room, where Luke had been sitting in for the past half an hour or so. He had wanted some time to himself, but that wasn't going to be happening with a friend like Ashton.

"Hey." Luke leant back, looking up at the two of them. "What's up?"

"What are you doing on the floor?" Ashton asked. 

"I didn't make it to the couch." Luke mumbled, going back to the ball he'd been curled up in. He started biting down on his thumbnail, staring at the fllor. "It's been a year now. The first anniversary of Zoey's death."

"Yeah, it's Ruby's first birthday too." Ashton knelt down, holding Ruby up on her feet. "And she needs you to be there for her."

"I don't think I can do anything right now." Luke gave Ashton a pleading look. "Five more minutes and I'll be fine."

Ashton sighed. "Do you mean that?"

Luke sat still for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "I'm not fine. At all." He let Ashton place Ruby in his lap, which helped calm him down enough for him to listen to Ashton.

"It's okay to not be okay. Nothing has been easy, but it's been worth it, right? I mean, look at this kid. She's the happiest little bug I've ever seen, and that's thanks to you. You're doing everything you can and it's working. Don't let this day ruin this streak." Ashton let Luke hold onto Ruby for a few minutes before picking her back up. "Five minutes. That's all you get and then you're taking your kid back. Come on Ruby, let's go sneak some icing."